Extravaganza in Finland
Kino Regina, operated by the Finnish Audiovisual Institute and located in Oodi, Helsinki's central library, specialises in screening classic films, mostly from original film prints.
On 18 October, the cinema began a five-week season of Laurel and Hardy shorts, with screenings every Sunday at 2 pm. A few of us attended the opening screening and enjoyed *Two Tars*, *County Hospital* and *Big Business* on a huge screen. There were around sixty fans of the boys in the audience, which was pretty good considering it was one of the sunniest Sundays we've had this autumn.
Archivist Petteri Kalliomäki (right) explained that the archive holds copies of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's films in widely varying technical conditions. For example, the final reel of the Oscar-winning *The Music Box* is missing from their collection. For these screenings at Kino Regina, the best-quality prints available have been selected.
Severi & Pekka & Tepa
Originally, the intention had been to show only the boys' silent films, but it soon became clear that this would have meant leaving out too many of their most characteristic elements, starting with their famous theme tune, *The Cuckoo Song*. After all, of all the great silent comedians, Laurel and Hardy were arguably the most successful in making the transition to sound films.
Some fans had brought their grandchildren along, and it was wonderful to hear six-year-olds giggling at the very same things that made audiences laugh almost 100 years ago! And we get to enjoy this for four more Sundays.
Pekka Lehtosaari